Relatively sophisticated portable computers are now readily available. These can include powerful processors capable of addressing a number of different peripherals on different types of busses. For example, floppy drives, hard drives, and modems have been developed for the family of buses and interface connectors developed for the so-called IBM-compatible personal computer line and its progeny. Standards in this family include the PCI, ISA, IDE, and PCMCIA standards.
Although these sophisticated machines can now support a large number of software applications and interact with several different peripheral devices, users do not always need all of these capabilities. To this end, docking stations, port replicators, and portable external peripheral devices have been developed. These devices have allowed users to reduce the amount of hardware they carry with them, but they do not always present a solution that provides the user with optimal flexibility.